Saturday, January 31, 2009

Ok so at supper last night Papa announced to everyone that he wanted today to be a lay-day and to do nothing, which was great lol. I woke up this morning and crawled out of bed and Papa and Grama still appeared to be sleeping! It seemed weird being up before them but they weren’t too far behind me.

We got talking to Brenda (from Brandaris) about how I want(need) a wetsuit for snorkelling and she was saying about a dive shop not too far away...well this convo ended up brining about a day of completely cleaning the boat! Like scrubbing the deck and the back transom (which was black and yellow from the salt water on the stairs and fibreglass) to scrubbing the side panels of the enclosure and even scrubbing the dingy. We even patched a few rub spots on the dingy. It was a LONG day but not bad lol I was getting soaked constantly so I finally put on some suntan lotion and my bikini lmao. I think I’m finally starting to even out the wonky tan lines I got in Miami.

After we decided we weren’t cleaning anymore we sat for a few mins and then got talking to Peter the dock master about the marine animals we could see in the water.

Since today is Friday everyone decided we should go out for a few drinks and appetizers (which we all knew would end up being supper), so we went back to the Yacht Club which Brenda and Walter says has the most reasonable prices. It was a fun evening.When we got back I decided I wanted to go swimming lol. So I jumped in the pool...ok so I slowly... barely inched my way into the cold water lmao. But I did get in and swim lol. And now I am thoroughly exhausted and Grama and Papa are already in bed as I’m typing this and I’m going to bed now too!

4:50am We’ve all gotten up and gotten ready and we’ve started to raise the anchor.

5:20am Dingy is lifted and we’re underway. Say Yes is just ahead of us leading the way. It’s pitch black and the stars we were marvelling at last night seem to be shining brighter than ever (I’m also feeling ALOT better) and I’m starting to like the idea of possibly night sailing because it is so beautiful. I’m also searching the water and our wake for signs of glowing jellyfish =].

5:45am I think I can make out light on the horizon (I can’t see as many stars there as I could before)

6:00am Yep there’s definitely light starting to show on the horizon, we can make out shapes of clouds

6:21am There’s finally a peachy glow on the horizon.7:01am All of a sudden the sun peaks over the horizon and within minutes is climbing into the sky.

We crossed the tongue of the ocean today and we expected to have a wonderful sailing day but unfortunately the wind was too close to the nose so we had trouble carrying the main and the jib and the jib kept back winding the main =[. We played with the sails constantly because when things were going good we could get a knot of lift off the sails but it was a lot of tinkering(Out motor is running at our cruising speed the whole time mind you). We started with a full main and jib, and then we put a double reef in the main because it kept back winding, which worked for a while. And then we rolled in the jib.

All this time Bob has been way out of sight back at the anchorage. But of course he can easily catch us. He all of a sudden appears off our port quarter and within minutes is abeam of us. And then seeming to add insult he rolls in his jib and just motors past >_> lmao. Soon enough he’s gone from sight.Eventually Grama and I convinced Papa to shake a reef out of the main and we immediately picked up another .5of a knot.

It was 5:00pm on the button when we pulled into a slip at Nassau Harbour Club, a slip that also happened to be next to Brandaris!! After we got settled I walked to the other dock owned by the Harbour club to find Say Yes and tell them we were in and settled. Bob decided to go out and anchor in front of the Yacht Club, which isn’t very far away (we can see Windswept). We chatted for a while, and had showers and went over to meet Bob at the Yacht Club for supper. It was a full night and let me tell you we were soo ready for bed I crawled into my V-berth and didn’t even change out of my shorts and tank lol they were comfy enough lol I just went straight to sleep.

As I already posted we left this morning bright and early...well to start the day off i was not feeling well...AND as we headed out the cut we realized creeper dude was coming with us >_>. Let me tell you I was NOT impressed!

We weren’t even a mile out when we realized creeper had given up and gone back to Bimini. His little boat couldn’t keep up with the big guys. Thank god!

Unfortunately Tony and Diane on Vertigo also had to turn back as well =[. Their alternator died and they were taking on water =/. We all expected Tony, who is good at tinkering and fixing engines, to throw out the hook and attempt to fix it right there but when he said that he looked at it and thought he should go back to Bimini we started to worry about them. Whippoorwill elected themselves to head back with them for safety as well as company. For a while we were undecided whether or not we should head back with them as well but we ended up pressing on with Bob on windswept and our new friends on Say Yes.

It was a rolly day with swells but it wasn’t choppy. Grama a few times seemed to be a little sea sick and well myself.... not having felt well originally...well let’s just say I don’t think I was a pleasure to be around and I spent most of the day down below sleeping or trying to sleep.

We anchored on the banks just as the sun was setting and it was an amazing sight. On the banks there is no land as far as the eye can see and the stars.... I don’t think there are words that do justice to ho amazing they were... I was still feeling ill and I even told Grama just to shoot me lol and I laid on the foredeck and for a few minutes forgot about how I felt because I have never seen so many stars. The moon was a hook moon and the stars extended all the way down and seemed to touch the water on the horizon. It was hard to tell where the water began and the sky ended.

But coming back to reality stunk lol. Papa had a talk on the VHF with Windswept and Say Yes and since we all want to be in Nassau tomorrow before dark we’re going to have to be up LONG before the crack of dawn. And not only do we have to pull up anchor in the morn, we have to lift the dingy out of the water and put it on the foredeck and secure it because towing it costs you speed and if we were to tow it we wouldn’t have a chance at making Nassau before nightfall.

It was a rolly restless night. Being way out here the air is soo moist you clothing gets so damp that you toss and turn and wake up every hour tops to either pull the comforter over you or throw it off. You can never find the right temperature. I have the V-berth which is the part of the boat that most feels the up and down motion from the waves and I’ll give papa credit he did offer for me to sleep in the aft cabin with Grams but being sick I needed my space and wanted my room...whether that was a wise choice or not I’m not sure lol.

OHHH WAIT!!! I almost forgot!! I was sleeping in the cockpit and all of a sudden Grama was saying my name and coming over to get me up. I was...not in a good mood because sleeping was the only way not to feel nauseous but knowing this I tried not to be snarky and I was just opening my mouth to... well... nicely inform her i was not feeling well and getting me up was not only cruel but way uncalled for... lmao... I’ll admit I’m not pleasant to be around when I’m not feeling well...but i was cut short when I saw how excited she was telling me to look and pointing off in the distance. She was so excited all she could really say was look like the word she wanted was on the tip of her tongue... and then just as she told me what i was looking for I saw 2 dolphins jump clear out of the water and a group of them were making their way over to the boat. What Grama muttered were like magical words lmao I instantly forgot my nausea and quickly got up to the bow (forgetting the camera mind you =[ ). Not all the dolphins came over to the boat but 5 swam with the bow briefly and a few more swam alongside the boat. Another not very close to the boat jumped again... It was AMAZING lol. Being able to see clear down to the bottom in 20’ of water...it was like looking at dolphins through the glass at Marineland. This only lasted about 2-3 minutes (which seemed like 20-30seconds) before they were bored and moved on. As they went through our wake they all took turns jumping several feet out of the water. I ended up just sitting on the foredeck almost in disbelief...wild dolphins jumping 3’ out of the water not even 10’ away from the boat. Eventually reality kicked in again lol and I was back to being miserable...although I did thank Grama for getting me up lol.

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Today was pretty much a lazy day. Grama and i walked the beach (almost all 7 miles of it =/ and then we had to turn around) while the boys went to town. And then we just laid on the beach for a while, with the creeper watching >_> and once we noticed him we left! We walked into town...and who should appear CREEPER!!!

When we got back to the marina there was a long discussion about our plans for the next few days. It’s going to take us roughly 3 days to get to Nassau and there is another front coming through with winds in excess of 30knots...aka LOTS OF WIND!! (We had 50knots when hurricane Ike came through back in the NY canal system and 10-15knots is rough weather) So if we leave tomorrow it might be crappy but we’ll be in Nassau for the storm...if the weatherman says it’s too nasty we’re stuck in Bimini until Monday....which Diane doesn’t seem excited about...and yes I’m ready to move on but we’re on an island in paradise! Why complain?

Tonight we sat around the salon and watched a few episodes of ‘I Love Lucy’ lmao and were lazy. We have to be up at 6am regardless so I’m heading to bed. Good Night =]

Monday, January 26, 2009

We had an all day beach day =]. Karen and I snorkelled along the beach looking for shells (the bow of the boat is covered in shells we collected :P). I had a creepy guy stalk me -_- and we lazed around. All in all not a bad day (minus the creep!!).

The commercials are right, it’s better in the Bahamas!!! This morning we slept in lol. Papa wasn’t even outa bed until the sun was fully up! We had breaky, launched the dingy and headed out to the beach....you can’t describe how breathtaking the water is here. I’ve watched the movie Into the Blue (Great movie!!! lmfao Shelb and Shi) several times and i never really believed the water was that clear and such an amazing aqua colour. It’s incredible being able to stand on the boat in 20’ of water and see the bottom perfectly clear.

I look retarded like im going to eat Bob -_-

At 2 Bob took me to some huge rocks a mile off the shore by Bimini Bay and we went snorkelling. We saw at least 5000 FISH!!!(and yes Candice I did count there were 5047 to be exact -_- ) I’ve decided that I really REALLY want an underwater camera lol.

By the time we went back to the boat I was exhausted (don’t tell Papa I admitted that! lmao). We had a happy hour over on Windswept but I was tired and left a little early lol.

Saturday, January 24, 2009

So at first Grama and I kept thinking...wtf have we gotten ourselves into?!?! It was rocky and rolly when we started out and we had 10-15 knots of winds...needless to say we weren’t sure if today was going to be good.

But eventually we made it out of the slop and it became a nice sail. Officially at 12:15pm we could no longer see the Miami high rises. I both liked and disliked the fact that there was no land in sight...on the one hand it’s exhilarating to be able to go and do what you want...but...theres that little voice that screams ‘THERES NO FREAKIN LAND ANYWHERE!!!’

At 1:40 Grama half yelled LAND HO!!! And around 330 we were nicely tied to a dock and filling out paperwork....well it wasn’t too easy coming in with our depth reader throwing a hissy fit >_>. Lol.

We’ve had a pretty good night. Made friends with the boat in the next slip who gave out free pina coladas. Had Tony, Diane and Bob over for supper. And i am soooo ready for bed haha. So g’night!! <33

It’s 5:40am and we’re starting the day and going to head across to Bimini, the closest Bahimian island. If any of you can picture the length of our laneway back home...well that’s how wide this island is lol. It’s possible that I’ll have wifi in Bimini but I’m not entirely sure. If not I probably wont get internet until we hit Nassau. Papa just turned on NOAA (the Marine weather) so I’m going to go listen up. Ttyl.

Friday, January 23, 2009

Papa left early this morning to go get his tooth looked at =/.Finally Grama and I got out of bed and while she went up to talk to the girl at the office about letting us stay for today I did some homework.

When Grama got back she said some magic words “TODAYS GOING TO BE WARM SO I THINK WE SHOULD SIT BY THE POOL”!!!! lol and so far that’s what we’ve done today :P

We got to move to the dock today!! Lol, but first we needed to go to a marina where we could get fuel. After that was all taken care of we made it onto the dock and quickly ran to have showers so Grama and i could spend a day on the town.

We took the elevated shuttle bus around the city and then went to some shops. We walked for what seemed like forever and ate some lunch...well brunch lol. After we ate we walked through some more shops and by the time we made it to the grocery store i was tired! Luckily we ran into Bob who gave us a ride back to the boat =].

We had been planning on leaving tomorrow but the guys decided that Sat would be better so we’re going to spend another day here in the COLD Miami =[

Ohh i almost forgot. At some point this evening while watching tv papa broke one of his back molars =/....like the filling in the center came out and the tooth cracked in half.... so it’ll be off to the dentist tomorrow!

Something about today wasn’t right from the moment I woke up...ITS FREEZING COLD!!! LIKE THERE’S A FREEZE WARNING IN MIAMI!!! >_>

Well today we did groceries. It’s the first time we’ve been out in about here but grocery shopping isn’t very exciting lol....to be honest i didn’t think we had room.

We had sooo many groceries lol. I had a backpack (and not a tiny back pack either) where we packed in canned goods and milk and all sorts of other things and then I had 2 bid boat bags full of stuff and Grama had a cooler bag and a big boat bag to carry...and we had to walk and take busses to get back to the boat. Needless to say we were exhausted be the time we got back....and then we had to find room for them -_-

This started a HUGE organizing frenzy. Since we’re planning on leaving on Fri we need to remove all cardboard from the boat (bugs are bad in the island so you don’t take any cardboard onboard to prevent cockroaches and ants etc.)...this is easier said than done. We had to pull EVERYWHERE we had food apart. And we got the vacuum packer out and spent quite a while re organizing everything.

When we finally finished we headed up to the club house to have happy hour with the gang. Bob even agreed to take me snorkelling in Bimini =]

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Today we braved the ocean blue and made it to Miami. On the way we ran into about a dozen dolphins and 6 of them swam with us! criss-crossing under the bow just like they did under the St. Mary’s ferry. The only difference is the water here. It’s a beautiful turquoise and clear for atleast 3 feet. I only got one pic lol, I was so mesmerized by them and they didn’t stay with us for very long.

Arriving in Miami is everything we expected lol. HUGE cruise ships, packed beaches, tons of boating traffic...and of course a lot of ignorant power boaters >_>. We joined up with Vertigo, Whippoorwill, Wind Swept and One Day =]. I went to read and fell asleep early lol. Papa and Grama went to say hi to everyone. And then we bunkered down for the night.

Ok so we decided not to leave today because it wasn’t a particularly nice day on the ocean and tomorrow is suppose to be perfect. So we had a beach day :P.

We walked the beach (which was kinda cool...as in the wind was cold) but then we decided to walk back to the boat and get our swim suits on and lay on the beach to sun tan. On the way back we say a hair place so we made a slight detour and I went in to get my hair cut lol. And then off to the beach and...well the video in the other post after a few rums and glasses of wine :P

Saturday, January 17, 2009

Friday, January 16, 2009

Today I learned something about myself. I HATE bridges lmao. All we did today was bridge after bridge and about half of them were having electric problems so we were constantly being held up. It made for a very long day!

We’re in Fort Lauderdale for the night and in the morning we’ve decided to ditch the ICW and head out into the big blue to avoid anymore bridges lol. Hopefully all will go as planned and we’ll be in Miami tomorrow =].

Well it was an earlier morning then we’ve had in about a month lol but still a late morning for a sailor....i think readjusting to boat hours is going to be as painful as it was before lmao....it’s a very fair statement to say I’m NOT a morning person!

We headed over to the fuel dock for a pump out before we got underway and noticed a familiar boat named ‘Merku’ (...i think that’s how you spell it =/...if not srry Brett!) from Cleveland. Brett and Jill were still in bed so we asked the hand (*roles eyes at Aunti J* :P inside joke) how long they had been there. Apparently they’d been on the dock for a month with engine problems and somehow while we were there we hadn’t run into them. Papa quickly left a note saying hi and we headed off down the ICW.

A few hours later Brett hailed us on the VHF and we had a nice chat. Hopefully we’ll meet up at some point in time.

The stretch of the ICW that we accomplished today had quite a few bridges which generally makes for a slower day. Considering we did exceptionally well and only were held up at 1 bridge for about 20mins. Other than that we just cruised along.

At the moment we’re docked at Lake Park Harbour Marina. The winds have been out of the north so it’s cooled down a lot and we’re expecting a chilly night and we want to be plugged in. We’re all kinda being lazy and Grama and I decided that we were too lazy to cook so papa has headed up to call for pizza x] lol...umm i don’t think there’s much more to report...just another day on Nice Butt :P

Well ok we’ve been back a few days but I haven’t been able to find time to sit and write for the blog.

Our trip home was a lot of fun. My uncle Dave picked us up at the airport in Buffalo when we flew home on Dec 15th. We stayed with Aunt Karen, Uncle Dave and Winnie until Wed when we drove up to St. Thomas and went separate ways. I Stayed with some friends, while Grama went with her sister Aunt Brenda to pick up my Great Grama Wonch lol and Papa just went to Aunt Connie’s.

I ended up staying with friends for quite a while lmao. Fattie and Bryn’s parents LOVE me xD. I almost thought i would be adopted at Bryns haha.

I spent Christmas at my mothers in Brampton =] while Grama and Papa spent Christmas in Blenheim at my Aunt Connie’s. On New Years us Kentners celebrated the New Year and Christmas lol so it was ALOT of fun xD.From there I went to visit my Dad and family <3 while Grama and Papa went to Meaford for a family matter. And then i was off to my Auntie J’s for almost a week (she make GREAT shortbread cookies x], I brought some back on the boat with me).After all that I got to be a part of my little sisters 11th birthday party =].

We had a great time...but it was COLD! Lol so it was nice to fly back to Fort Pierce Florida where 80° and sunshine were waiting.

Since we’ve been back the boat has been turned upside down and inside out. We’ve been packing and organizing (not that anyone but us would think it was organized), we’ve bought hundreds of dollars worth of groceries and beer and wine lmao, so we’re all stocked up to head over to the islands =].

We’re planning on leaving tomorrow morning to head down to Miami and meet up with some of our convoy and wait for a good weather window.